[Vocabulary] "I fancy" meaning "It seems to me"

[englishhobby]

E.g. I fancy she likes sweets.

Is this meaning of fancy (= I guess) widely used by all native speakers?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's widely used in BE.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's odd for AmE. I know "fancy" meaning to like something, but this use is not normal. I would say "I gather that she likes sweets" or "I assume."

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The usual American use is as an adjective: decorated, dressy, lots of frills, lots of extras, gussied, high-end. How much did that fancy hat cost? That fancy TV does everything!

Brits use it in two other ways. One is yours, and you're using it correctly. The other is to like or to be attracted to: She fancies her boss's son. I fancy cold root beer.

Americans sometimes use the word in those ways, too, but we usually think it sounds a little bit too...fancy!

 

[emsr2d2]

I understand it in that context but I've never used it and I don't experience the "wide" use that Rover described. I mainly use and hear "I fancy some chocolate" or "I fancy Johnny Depp"!